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Nyrdic Mythology and Folktales
Summary There exist many myths and folktales told by followers of the Nyrdic Faith. Some are purely fictional and others are held to be completely true. NB: Many myths and folktales derive from oral and bardic tradition. As such, there can be countless other versions to the stories told below. Mythology Creation of Yggrskal and the birth of Ormyr According to the Nyrdic Faith, at the beginning of time and the end of the previous time, there was a whirlwind of fire and ice. At the centre of the whirlwind, known as Musselnif, two warriors battled; Nannyr the Old and Ismyr the New, the slayers of Yllr. For years they battled, until Nannyr was slain by Ismyr. From his corpse, Ismyr created The Almenigal (multiverse), which consists of Yggrskal, Helgard and Valgard. From his heart, Ismyr created the sun, Soll, and from his bones, the moon, Lund. From his teeth, the stars, the Stjerne, were made. Ismyr then used his flesh to make the world and covered it in his blood to make oceans and his breathe to make the heavens. Afterwards, it is said that Ismyr was exhausted and sweated ice. After he had rested, he brought together the realms of Daer and Nott and from their union filled the ice with life, creating his wife, Besa. They settled on Valgard, most beautiful and highest of the realms, and built a mead hall, Valskal, where Besa gave birth to Ormyr. Ormyr's early life and his marriage to Vvana When Ormyr had grown into a man, he left Valskal in search of adventure. He travelled to Yggrskal and found a piece of ice which Ismyr had sweated. Ormyr brought the ice to Ismyr, who promised to create a wife for Ormyr from it. Ormyr left, searching for more ice, leaving Ismyr to his work. However, Ismyr's original woman was too big and ugly; Ismyr had created the Jotnir. Ismyr's next sculpture shattered, creating the dwarves. Ismyr's next sculpture, however, was perfect. When Ormyr returned, Ismyr brought life into sculpture and created Vvana. Ormyr and Vvana soon married and gave birth to Harth, Lomat and Skryd. War with the Jotnir and the Dwarves The Jotnir and the dwarves, angry for having been cast aside, waged war on the gods. The war was catastrophic and broke Yggrskal into many pieces, the planets. The war also cost the lives of Besa, Ismyr and Vvana. Eventually, the Jotnir and the dwarves were cast deep into the earth. Saddened with the loss of his parents and his wife, Ormyr formed the trunks of many trees into human forms and used the spirits of those he had lost to fill them with life. The humans populated Yggrskal, and the gods departed to Valskal in Valgard, where Ormry used the remaining ice to craft the minor gods and goddesses of the Nyrdic pantheon. Ormyr's Descension and his pact with Hrafn Ormyr, supposedly in the year 3E 67, descended to the site of Ormyrban and promised to bring his people to that land. However, hsi first attempt to bring people to the land ended in their deaths. Sorry for them, he decreed that all worthy dead should enter Valskal and feast for eternity, while the unworthy dead should be exiled to teh fiery realm of Helgard, tormented by evil spirits. Ormyr tasked his grandaughters, the Valkyries, to transport the honoured dead to Valskal. However, the Valkyries could not enter Yggrskal. And so Ormyr beseeched the raven king, Hrafn, to task his ravens to carry the souls of the dead to Valgard where they could then be escorted to Valskal. Hrafn agreed, but only if Ormyr could defeat his in single combat. They battled and, although Hrafn managed to take Ormyr's eye out, Ormyr was victorious. And so, not only were the ravens tasked to carry the honoured dead to Valgard, but Hrafn himself became fast friends with Ormyr and from then on never left his side, swearing an oath to protect him. The Unworthy dead and the contest of Helgard The unworthy dead also needed a way of entering Helgard. With no one else to turn to, Ormyr asked his three children to decide amongst themselves who would take over the rule of Helgard. They all were unwilling and argued about it for many days. Eventually, Ormyr stepped in and decided that, seeing as they all were unwilling, he would design a contest. All three would have to find a trophy and the one who brought the worst trophy would be sent to Helgard to rule over it. Skryd traveled to the dwarves and seduced their king, making him give over a great hammer called Mjol. Harth travelled far and wide and eventually found a dragon, Sterv, and slew it, claiming its head. Lomat, taking advice from a winged serpent named Floed, who advised him to trick Harth into giving him his trophy. When the trophies were presented, Ormry immediately sensed Lomat's trickery and cast him and Floed into Helgard, to rule over the unworthy dead. The Battle of the Gods and the Ragnarok prophecy When Kativa waged war upon the world, the gods entered the world to fight her. This included the Nyrdic gods, who lead many of the battles. It is believed by many to be the first of three battles in the Ragnarok prophecy. The prophecy tells of three epic battles. The first is between the gods and Kativa. The second battle is between the gods and the Jotnir, aided by Kativa. Finally, the third battle will be between all of men and the gods against the Jotnir and Kativa, aided by Lomat and his wolves, Skaal and Hjoti. At the end of ragnarok, the world will be craeted anew and the cycle of time will be repeated. Related Lore On Ormyr Ormyr and the Raven King Ormyr's Descension The Contest of Helgard The Creation of the Almenigal The Ragnarok Prophecy The War with the Jotnir and the Dwarves Valskal and the Birth of Ormyr Category:Game Lore Category:Nyrds, Bayans and Baltans